103231 | HUNGARY. Bull and Bear Markets bronze Medal.

103231  |  HUNGARY. Bull and Bear Markets bronze Medal. Issued 1923 (63mm, 112.37 g, 12h). By Szántó Gergely.

 

• HAUSSE • • 1923 •, head of portly man facing slightly left, with mischievous grin and clasping hands in sense of greedy eagerness // • BAISSE •, head of thinner man facing slightly right, with furrowed brow and grabbing at head with both hands. Edge: Plain.

 

Choice Mint State. Olive-brown surfaces. A rare and interesting satirical issue that illustrates the two aspects of the stockmarket in the years leading up to the crash and subsequent Great Depression.

 

This interesting type shows the influence of French on other languages, as "baisse" is French for a dropping or lowering [of prices], and "hausse" is the opposite, meaning a rising or increasing. German and Hungarian both adapted these terms as an extension of the market swings—essentially an analog to bearish and bullish financial conditions. Here, the greed of the bear market displays a man seemingly personifying gluttony, while the inconsolable concern of the bull market features a different man full of turmoil and panic. This concept would prove to be rather prescient, as the great stock market crash and ensuring global depression that would follow it would occur a mere 6 years after the creation of this medal.

 

Upload: 4 August 2025.